Grain cleaner and separator



PATENTED JAN 12, 1904.

EIR; ERAVER. GRAIN CLEANER AND sEEARAToR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

To .Bz/sr lourcnn PATENTED JAN. 12, 1904.

E. R. BEAVER. GRAIN CLEANER-AND sEPARAToR.

NO MODEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25. 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented January 12, 1904.

EMIL R. DRVER, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA.

. GFiAlN CLEANER AND `s.IEPARATQla.

` SllECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent 1`\T0. 749,366, datedJanuary 12, 1 9074.

`Application filed June 25, 1903. Serial No.162,97'7. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: f

Be it known that I, EMIL R. DRAvEE, a citizen of the United States,resid ing at Richmond, in the county of lNayne and State of Indiana,have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Grain Cleaners andSeparatore; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled'inithe artto which it -appertains tomake and use the same. My invention relates to whatI term a combinedgrainA cleaner and separator, and has nying drawings, wherein likecharacters indicatelike `parts throughout the several views. Figure 1 isa vertical section taken through a complete machine embodyingrmylinvention on the line m a" of FighQ. Fig. 2 is a transverse verticalsection taken on the irregular line m2 wg of Fig. 1. Fig.` 3 is a sideelevation-looking atv the machine from the left toward the right withrespect to Fig. l, and Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section taken-onthe line mi mi of g In practice I have found that screenings and brokengrain can be removed from :the pure grain `with facility in an endlessair-trunk sep.-

arator of comparativelysmall size-.considerL r mg its capacity,provided, however, that all of the; light .dust,.fuzz, and dirt beremoved from thegrain beforeit enters the endless airtrunk separator, inwhich the final separation takes place.y ,A rapid movementofthe air insuch an endless air-trunk separator is required 1n order to separate thescreenings and broken grain from .the pure grain, and such a rapidmovement of Ythe airwould not allow dust and light materialsto settle incase they awere inendless air-trunk separator, itis necessary that thesame be scoured in order to loosen up these fuzzy particles. In mypresentmachine I overcome all these diiliculties.

The `machine illustrated may be treated as made up of primary andsecondary sections and of which the primary section of the machineinvolves a scourer and afan for coperation therewith to remove theifuzzand light particles from the grain or stock, as above indicated. Thebest form of the scourer is a perforate cylinder and coperating internalbeater or rotary brush.

The so-called secondary section of the machine involves anendlessair-trunk and a fan for producing a continuous belt orcirculation of air therethrough and whichv fan is independent of the fanof the so-called primary section of themachine in that it does not actupon the same blast or belt of air. y Y

Directing attention first to the so-called primarysection of themachine, the `numeral vl indicates a rectangular skeleton frame shown asformed ofl timbers. The numeral 2 indicates a case which is rididlysecured to the frame 1 .and within which is rigidly supported ahorizontally disposed perforate scouringdrum 3. `Working within the drum3 is a rotary brush Lof reel-like form, the shaft 5 of which projects atboth ends and is 4journaled in suitable bearings 6 on the frame l. Secured at .one end" of the case 2 is a fan-case 7, in which works a'-fan-head 8, lrigidlysecured on the shaft 5.. i The grain is -deliveredinto thefreceiving. end ofthe drum 3 through a spout 9, and from thedelivery end of said drumlthe grain passes through a dischargespout :10,in one side of which, as shown, is an air-inlet-passage 11.y VIn thatend of the case 2 which forms an end tothe drum 3 is an axial airfinletpassage l2,and in that end of said case which Iforms one side of thefan-case -7 is a large air-passage or eye 13. The bottom of the case 2is of hopper-like form and hasV a discharge-openingwhich is normallyclosed by a spring-held hinged door 14. `Atits righthand end, withrespect toFigl. Lathe shaft is shown as provided with "a 'pulleyl l5,over which runs a power-driven belt, (not sho-wm) wliicl'will serve to'impart rotary moti'ii'to IOO the shaft 5 and the parts carried thereby.In the passage which leads directly to the fan-eye 13 is a valve 13a forregulating the amount of air which will be drawn by the fan 8.

The so-called secondary section of the machine in the present instanceinvolves a fanhead 16, secured on the extreme left-hand end of the shaft5. This fan-head 16 works within a fan-case 17, which fan-case forms apart of an endless air trunk or passage and which air-trunk furtherinvolves as follows: rIhe fancase 7 at its peripheral portion opens intoa depending leg or trunk section 18, which at its lower extremity iscurved laterally and then extended vertically upward to a hopperlikechamber 19, for the sake of clearness herein termed the expansionchamber. The air in passing from the upturned portion of the leg ortrunk 18 is caused to abruptly change its course, first, by adeflecting-partition 20, and then by a depending deflectingpartition421. This abrupt change in the course of the air-blast causes theprecipitation within the chamber 19 of'such materials or particles asare carried thereinto by the airblast. The passage between the upperedge of the partition 20 and the overlying wall of the air-trunk isadapted to be opened and closed, more or less, by means of a pivotedcut-off valve 22, the shaft of which, as shown, projects atA one end andis provided with a hand-piece 23, by means of which it may be adjustedand set in different positions. In the bottom of the chamber 19 is adischargeopening which is normally closed by a springpressed hinged door24. The upper portion of the chamber 19 opens into a laterally-oifsettrunk-section 25, which in turn opens into the fan-case 17 through anaxially-disposed eye 26, as best shown in Fig. 1. The grain from theprimary section of the machine is by the discharge-spout 10 thereofdelivered into a hopper-like pocket 27, formed at one side of theupturned portion of the trunk-section 18 and opening thereinto, as bestshown in Fig. 2. r)The grain introduced -into the air-trunk from thepocket 27 drops into a hopper-like depression 28, formed at the lowerportion of the trunk-section 18 andprovided with a discharge-opening,which is normally closed by a spring-pressed hinged door 29. The openingfrom the pocket 27 into the trunk-section 18 may be varied by a pivotedcut-off valve 30, 4

trunk of the separator or secondary section of the machine, as alreadystated. While passing through the spout 10, the wheat is subjected to alight suction-draft, which passes into the said spout through theopening 11 and is drawn to the fan 8. By this draft of air all particlesof light dust, chaff, scourings, vand other light stuff not removed fromthe wheat while it was in the scouring-drum 3 will be taken up by theair-draft and drawn to the fan 8 and together with other particles drawnto the said fan will be blown into a dust-collector (not shown) in whichair will be filtered through the collecting-cloth and the dust and otherparticles caught and held by the said cloth. Of course in some instancesthe fan 8 may be permitted to discharge the dust-laden air into openspace. In any event the-lightand fine particles, which should beseparated from the screenings as well as from pure grain, are taken upand carried from the from by opening the spring-pressed door 14.

The wheat, cleared of dust` and other light stuff, as already described,but containing, for instance, screenings and broken grain upon passingfrom the pocket 27 into the return section of the trunk-leg 18 fallsthrough a strong upwardly-moving blast of air from the fan 16 and dropsinto the depending hopper 28, from whence the pure wheat flows outwardin a continuous stream through the opening which is normally closed bythe springpressed door 29. This upwardly-moving blast of air will takeup the screenings and broken particles of grain and carry the same overthe deiiecting-partition 20 and then under the deiiecting-partition 21and into the so-called expansion-chamber 19. As the air makes abruptchanges in its course in passing between the delecting-partitions 20 21,it causes the screenings and broken grain to be precipitated into thebottom of the expansion-chamber 19, from which it will be drawn off.when the spring-pressed door 24 is opened. rIhe purified air is thendrawn off back into the fancase 17 and is again started on its coursethrough the endless air-trunk and isl thus made IOO IIO

to perform over and over the separating acall forced throughseparating-cloth.

acter than would be required to drive a machine of the same capacitywherein the aliii is urthermore, the separation is more complete.

The machine is especially adapted for use in cleaning and separatinggrain, but is capable of general use wherever separations of thecharacter above described are required to be effected. It is of courseevident that the grain orl a body of any other material to be cleanedmay be passed successively through several of the so-called air-belt orair-trunk separators. description and statements made that the socalledprimary sections of the machine may take a great many different forms.The in vention is also capable of modifications not lherein necessary todesignate, but which will suggest themselves to those skilled in theart. W hat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is as follows:

1. The combination with the endless airbelt separator equipped with afan maintaininga continuous circulation of the same body of airtherethrough, and which separator is provided with a series ofdefiecting-surfaces and an eX- pansion-chamber intermediate thestock-inlet and the eye of the fan, of a grain-scourer deylivering thescoured grain to said separator and itself equipped with a suction-fan,for eliminating the scourings and the fine dust from the stock beforesaid stock reaches said separator, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the endless air-belt separator equipped with afan maintaining a continuous circulation of the same body of airtherethrough and which separator is provided with a series ofdeiiecting-surfaces and anexpansion-chamber intermediate the grain-inletIt is also evident from the foregoing and the eye of the fan, of agrain-scourer delivering the scoured grain to said separator and itselfequipped with a suction-fan and an expansion-chamber for eliminating thescourings and fine dust from the grain before reaching Vsaid separator,the scourer being incased and subject to the suction-fan, all forcoperation, substantially as described.

3. In a graincleaner, the combination with a suitable casing, of aperforated scouringshell in said casing, a scouring-beater mounted torotate within said shell, for coperation therewith, an open-blast fanfor drawing oif the scourings and dust through said scouringshell, anendless air-trunk and a fan inclosed therein, for producing a continuousbelt of air, and means for passing the grain through the belt of air insaid endless air-trunk afterrproducinga belt of air therethrough, asettling-chamber in the path of the air-belt, and means for passing thegrain through the belt of air in said trunk for further separation afterit has been scoured, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.`

EMIL R. DRAVER.

Witnesses:

FRED S. BUTLER, G. LEDMAN SMITH.

